Day 1
Bishkek - Burana Tower - Orto-Tokoy - Song Kul lake
In the morning you’ll be picked up from a hotel to start your exciting tour. We’ll head towards Burana Tower to the small town of Tokmok (80km from Bishkek). Your guide will show you the mausoleums and other buildings discovered by archaeologists during excavations, you will have a chance to climb to the top of the ancient tower, where there is a beautiful view of the Chui valley and the Tien-Shan mountains open. Visit the small museum, which presents various archaeological artifacts, as well as an open-air museum, which contains ancient gravestones, rock drawings, and other interesting historical objects found on the territory of our country.
The Boom gorge is the connecting link between Chui valley and Song Kol lake. In the gorge flows one of the largest rivers of Tien-Shan – Chu. The river broke this large and picturesque gorge among the mountains. It will be our stop for the snacks and tea at one of the restaurants. National puff cakes with soar cream and tea boiled in russian samovar with unique taste.
Orto Tokyo reservoir is another picturesque place we will stop where you can enjoy the panoramic view to the first build reservoir surrounded by great dry mountains of Naryn region. This place is the only where you can witness camels in Kyrgyzstan because of the weather conditions.
After 2-3 hours driving we will finally start ascending to Song-Kol lake. The surrounding view changes color and texture all the time: from stony dunes to green hills. Here you can meet peacefully grazing mountain yaks - majestic animals that amaze with their power. Also in the vast meadows of the pass the mountain edelweiss grows. These beautiful flowers have become a real symbol of the mountains; lyrical works are dedicated to them. From the highest point, you can see the surrounding mountain peaks and the valley, from where the ascent began. There is an opportunity to estimate the scale of the done path and is breathtaking. Further, the road leads to descent, and hiking down is greatly accelerated. Very little remains until the meeting with the Son-Kul Lake. The journey through the Kalmak-Ashuu Pass is an exciting adventure.
Around 5 PM we will finally arrive at our yurt camp in Song-Kol lake. Check in to our yurts, have some rest after long drive. Have free time before dinner, and as soon as it gets dark we will make a fire and enjoy the lake and stars.